


Get Some Rest

by AliceMayWrite



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Best Friends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:14:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceMayWrite/pseuds/AliceMayWrite
Summary: Some of the times when the Parks Gang (mainly Ron) deals with a sleep-deprived Leslie Knope.
Relationships: Leslie Knope & Ann Perkins, Leslie Knope & Ron Swanson, Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Comments: 12
Kudos: 13





	1. After Camping

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry I've been gone a few days! I just got back from camping with some ideas for some new fics! This first chapter isn't that long but I'm sure they'll get longer as I go lol

Ron had made the right decision in getting Leslie to go to bed. He had been standing guard outside the door for approximately forty minutes, and Leslie had stopped yelling and had resorted to gently kicking the door with her foot. He could tell that she was tiring herself out, and hopefully soon she would give in and go to sleep.  
He had meant it when he said that the Parks Department owed her everything. She truly was the life and soul of the entire government branch. That being said, Tom and April were also right- she came up with the best ideas, and she was the one who put in the most effort- pretty much eighty percent more effort than anybody else in the building.  
That didn’t mean that she didn’t deserve time off, however. She was carrying the Parks Department on her back, and when it was time for her to take a break, Ron was going to be there to make sure things went okay while she was powering down. And right now, his way of doing that was to guard the door until she was asleep, no matter how long it took.

So, Ron made himself comfortable and he sat here.  
After an hour or so, Ron felt it safe to check to see if he could move to bed. He had a feeling that once she was out, she would be out until the morning.  
Ron slowly stood and placed his hand on the doorknob. He turned it, careful not to make too much noise. One loud creak and she might awaken, and then all their problems would begin again.  
A quick glance inside proved his theory- she was sprawled on the bed and fast asleep.  
Smiling slightly, Ron eased the door shut, quickly taking some steps away from the door to make sure she didn't wake up.  
Now he had to decide what to do next. Leslie had taken his room, which meant that he was sleeping in hers. An analysis of the house made him realise that she was going to take the sofa, so that was where he was going to sleep. He truly did bend over backwards for this Parks Department.

***

The meeting had been successful. She may have arrived late but, as expected, Leslie had bounced right back and delivered multiple excellent ideas, much to the enjoyment of Chris and Ben. Ron had known it was going to be fine- as usual- but that didn’t stop him from knocking on her office door an hour later to check on how she was doing.  
She looked a little worse for wear; she was still in the same outfit as last night, but now it was rumpled. Her bunches were falling out and she had adopted some kind of soft shawl to wear around her shoulders, but she was grinning brightly nonetheless. It was almost like she was totally unfazed by her appearance, and Ron respected her slightly for that.

“Ron!”  
“Leslie.”  
“The meeting went really well!”  
Ron nodded. “Unsurprising. It sounded like you had a lot to bring to the table.”  
“I really did, and it was all thanks to you!”  
She leapt up and pretended to punch his shoulder, a friendly gesture but a little over-the-top.  
“The ideas were yours. I just gave you a nudge in the right direction.”  
Leslie rolled her eyes, smiling. “Alright, that’s fair. Thanks, though. You stopped me from heading down a dark path and burning out. Nobody else did anything to help me. Not even Ann could save me, Ann who, by the way, I think somehow had a worse evening than we did.”  
Ron didn't care to question that further. “Sometimes our friends are a little shallow, but they do care. The real task at hand is making sure you know when to power down, Knope. Every adult needs a certain amount of sleep.”  
“I get a certain amount! Just… a little less than most people!”  
Ron just grunted, before moving over to the door. “Think on it, anyway.”  
The two smiled at each other and she watched him leave, before getting back into work. She was energized, and Leslie Knope would never waste the day.  
  



	2. After the Telethon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie sleeps for a LONG time after the telethon

Ann Perkins didn’t think she had ever had a friend this dedicated before. Leslie had been up for two days, but even still she had gone to Ann and told her that she could talk about her feelings. Ann didn’t know who Leslie’s best friend had been before her, but she thanked everything that she was out of the picture, because it was truly a joy to even know her. And being in her inner circle was truly something else.  
The best friend in question was currently asleep on her sofa and had been for twenty-three hours. It was honestly insane that she hadn’t woken up sooner. Ann had drawn a moustache on her face, which had been fun for a little while, but now she was just eager for her to wake up.

She checked her vitals for what felt like the millionth time. Leslie was still fine, but Ann had no idea how, because it had been absolutely ages. Ann herself had gone to sleep and woken up since it happened.   
Ann almost considered calling somebody. But who would even know how to deal with something like this? April never returned texts. In fact, Ann forgot why she even bothered to save her number in the first place, because it seemed like an utterly pointless endeavor. Andy was also a no-go… if she texted him, he would think she still wanted to be with him or something ridiculous like that.   
Tom would definitely just use it as an excuse to want to come over. Why were all men pigs? Ann could just imagine what he’d say. (“Hey, boo! If you and Mark are going through a rough patch, ya boy Tommy is here for you. Let’s ditch comatose Leslie, go the mall and treat yo’self!”)  
Donna was a more reliable person. Ann shot her a quick text, and Donna replied almost instantly.

 **Donna: Are you sure she’s even still alive? (8:06am)  
** Ann rolled her eyes. She was truly ridiculous sometimes.  
 **Ann: I’m fairly sure I know how to tell. Keeping people alive is sort of my job. (8:06am)  
Donna: I don’t know then. Throw some water on her face. (8:07am)**

That was a tempting offer. But she had to pass- that would get rid of the hilarious moustache she had drawn. Ann replied in the negative, and Donna simply wished her the best of luck.   
The only other person she could consider to ask for advice was Ron, but Ann wasn’t entirely sure he used the number that was given to her by Leslie. Every time she had messaged him, a whole three times, he had never replied. And they had been important questions, too. One time everybody was on a work trip and Leslie had been so busy she had forgotten to tell her, so Ann had asked Ron where to meet them. He never replied, which meant that Ann was stood in the rain all day before Leslie (very apologetically, in her defense) came to get her. But the woman worked more than she slept, clearly, so she wasn’t to blame there.

Biting the bullet, Ann hit call. It rang five times, before he picked up the phone.   
“Hey, Ron?” Silence. “Erm…”  
 _“Who is this?”_ His gruff voice came through as charming as ever. Ann groaned.  
“It’s Ann Perkins. You must know my voice by now, Ron.”  
 _“Irrelevant. What do you want?”_  
“Well, it’s Leslie. She’s been asleep at my house for like, a whole day now, and I’m not sure what to do.” Ron made a noise of confusion and Ann felt the need to elaborate. “I checked her vitals, she’s totally fine. It’s just been a long time.”  
 _“The thing with Leslie is to let her rest as long as she needs. She will bounce back, but sometimes it takes longer than expected. It’s her own fault for being so damn caring that she runs herself ragged.”  
_ The more Ron spoke, the more it occurred to Ann that she and Leslie really hadn’t been friends that long. A year. Enough time for Ann to get to know Leslie incredibly well, sure, but in times like this it was good to have a more seasoned friend to show her the ropes.  
“I hope she bounces back soon. I don’t like her being down for this long,” Ann replied with a slight edge to her voice. She tried to chuckle, but Ron just hummed.  
 _“Does she look alright?”_   
A glance over confirmed that Leslie was still asleep, but Ann had since put a blanket over her to keep her warm, and she was now (hopefully) super cozy.   
“She's still totally out of it. I’m not surprised though.”  
 _“I’m glad you’re there with her. Keep me updated.”  
_ “I will. Sorry for ringing you.”  
 _“It’s fine,”_ Ron replied gruffly, before hanging up.

***

When Leslie finally woke up, Ann was an hour into her second film. She had given up trying to wake up Leslie and had opted just to wait it out. So that’s what prompted her to put something on to distract herself. Right now, she was watching _Scott Pilgrim vs the World,_ which was enjoyable enough. It seemed more Andy’s kind of thing- Ann had a feeling he would fancy one of the characters, because she was eerily similar to April. She knew the two of them had something going on.  
Ann had done some rearranging, and Leslie was lying against her. Partially so she could keep an eye on her, but also because Leslie had been rather unceremoniously sprawled across her sofa for the better part of a day, and Ann wanted to at least squeeze on there. The weight of her friend leaning on her was almost comforting.

Leslie stirred slowly, and at first Ann didn’t realise she was waking up. It almost felt like Leslie had been asleep for their whole existence. When she did start to sit up, however, Ann quickly paused the film and looked down at Leslie, who groaned softly.   
“Les?” Ann whispered.   
“Ugh-”  
Leslie cleared her throat uncomfortably, clearly still feeling groggy. Thinking quickly, Ann remembered that there was a glass of water next to the sofa in preparation for this moment, so Ann grabbed it without jostling her too much. She handed it to Leslie and put her hand on her shoulder, watching in slight relief as she took some small sips.  
“Are you okay? Do you know how long you’ve been asleep?” Ann asked.  
“A couple of hours?” Leslie replied questioningly.   
“Try a _day_.” Before Leslie could let herself spiral, Ann continued hurriedly. “But it’s fine, because it’s your day off today. And you woke up for the start of my all-day movie marathon!”

Leslie looked at Ann sleepily, a small smile on her face. Ann smiled back. Clearly it would be a few minutes before Leslie properly rebooted, so she let her flop back down, her head landing in Ann’s lap. Ann chuckled, running her fingers through her hair absent-mindedly.   
“You really need to get better at the whole sleep thing, you know?”  
Leslie hummed. “Why would I do that when my best friend is so comfortable to lie on?”  
“Because you’ve been asleep for an entire day?” Ann wasn’t going to push it, but she may never get another chance to get Leslie so passive ever again.   
“I’m sorry,” Leslie mumbled. “I can never stop myself once I get started.”  
“I know.”  
Ann texted Ron that Leslie was awake. He didn’t reply, but she knew that he had noted it. And she didn’t doubt that Leslie would get an earful when she returned to work. But right now, the two of them were content to watch films together.   
Leslie perked up around fifteen minutes later, enough for Ann to extract herself and make them both a hot chocolate. She was still strangely cuddly and quiet, however, but Ann didn’t mind. She figured that even the best of the best needed time to recharge, and it seemed like Leslie had been close to a system failure. Ann was glad that her couch had been there to save the day.

“Hey, Ann? Did you draw a moustache on my face? You know I need to get you back for that, right?”  
 _Oops._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	3. After Tammy One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tammy One has been defeated! But at what cost???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if this counts as "sleep deprived" but sleep is involved haha

Ron escorted both Tammy women out the room, shutting the door loudly. While he felt a little bad for his Mum, he heard the two women start a vicious shouting match on the other side of the door, and figured that both of them could handle themselves.  
When he turned around, the entirety of the department were looking at him funny, aside from Leslie, who was still slumped over on the table.  
“That was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” Tom announced, breaking the silence. “Aside from your face without a moustache, Ron.”  
“It’ll grow back,” Ron muttered, rubbing his face tiredly.  
April groaned, clutching her throat. “That stuff is _poison_.”  
Andy made a noise of sympathy, and she burrowed her head into his shoulder again. He wrapped his arms around her, looking at the now empty bottle in distain.  
Donna snorted. “You should probably check that Leslie is alive.”

Tom was the first there, punching her lightly in the arm. She groaned again, and everybody winced.  
“Are you alive?” Tom shouted loudly down her ear. Leslie jerked herself up.  
“Ugh- yes _Tom_ I’m alive.” She squinted at him. “But you do have six heads. And that’s even if I can count.” April rolled her eyes, standing.  
“Donna, come with me and we’ll take her the bathroom.”  
Donna and April both grabbed an arm each, and practically dragged Leslie out of the room.  
“Do you need my help?” Ron asked as they walked past him.”  
“Ron your moustache is back!” Leslie practically yelled, and April rolled her eyes again.  
“We’ll be fine.”  
They exited the room, leaving the men standing there.  
“I gotta say, Ron,” Jerry said. “Your ex-wife is a real silver fox.”  
“ _That_ Tammy was my Mother,” Ron said, shutting his eyes in irritation. Jerry looked away sheepishly.  
“Ah, jeez.”

***

April and Donna returned with Leslie, who at least had a little more colour in her face.  
Ron had ordered everybody to go back to work, so when they returned there wasn’t a big fanfare as usual. Leslie was leaning on Donna as they re-entered. Ron exited his office to see if they needed his help, yet again. He couldn’t help but feel a little useless. Or stressed, or something. He had since changed back into his usual brown pullover to at least feel a little like himself, but there was a strange emptiness in his chest.  
April barely looked at Ron as she scuttled back to her desk, grimacing. Out of the corner of his eye, Ron saw her down a large glass of water. Maybe that stuff was worse than Snake Juice, it was hard to tell.   
Donna didn’t look all too pleased either. She deposited Leslie back on a seat, with Leslie uttering a quiet thanks to "my dear friend Hillary", before Donna turned to Ron.

“She got most of it out of her.”  
“Good.”  
“Which is probs for the best, since it was _lethal_. How are you _alive_ right now?”  
Ron couldn’t help but notice the way Donna looked him up and down, as if she were sizing him up.  
“Let’s just say I have my ways.”  
“You’re telling me, Swanson!”  
She then returned to her desk, leaving Ron to sit next to Leslie, who was frowning at the table. Before he could speak, however, she looked up at him groggily.

“Who won the competition?” Leslie asked slowly.  
“I did.”  
“Good.” She grimaced, and Ron put his hand on her shoulder.  
“Do you need to go home and rest?”  
“There is no way I can make it that far. Especially not when the floor looks like lava right now.” She tilted her head, her voice lowering. "Is it _safe?_ "  
“Sleep on the bench in my office, then,” Ron found himself saying. It wasn’t the best option, but he felt like he owed her something after all she had done for him today. Sharing his office space was a small price to pay for her losing the first fifteen layers of her stomach lining.  
“It’s fine, seriously.”  
It was strange. She wasn’t that drunk anymore, she just looked like she was in intense discomfort, which made Ron’s stomach twist again, not unlike how hers was undoubtedly feeling.  
“No. You’re sleeping on my bench.”

Ron took her by the arm and gently pulled her to her feet. She swayed a little, groaning, and he led her slowly into the office, before lowering her onto the bench.  
“Can you at least ask Ann if I need to be concerned? Does she need to give me the kiss of life? She's a nurse, she's probably great at it.”  
Ron sighed. "You’ll be in the clear soon, since it seems like you got it all up.”  
“Ugh, I did. The room is a blur right now but at least it’s out of me.”  
For some reason, something inside Ron snapped.  
“You’re lucky you didn’t have to get your stomach pumped, Leslie! You should never go against that soulless devil- I didn’t ask for your help!”  
After his outburst, Leslie simply squinted at him from where she was lying on the bench. Ron felt himself deflate- she hadn't argued back, and the room was filled with his angry words. He was left hovering by his desk, his face stern. Leslie rolled her eyes.  
“Whatever, Ron. I’m sleeping on your stupid bench.”  
Ron felt guilty immediately. He watched as she rolled up her jacket and put her face on it, and she was out like a light. Ron waited a second before moving her gently, so she was in the recovery position, just in case she was going to be sick again. Then he moved around the back of his desk and sat down. He opened a bottle of whisky and gave himself a helping, sighing.

***

When Leslie woke up, an hour later, she was met with a Paunch burger, inches away from her face. She looked up to see Ron, who was sheepishly holding it out like some kind of bizarre peace offering. Leslie yawned.  
“What’s this?”  
“A necessity. You’ll need it.”  
Leslie felt a headache brewing. “Noted.”  
She sat up and accepted the food, watching Ron as he moved to lean on his desk, watching her a little anxiously.  
“I’m sorry about what I said,” Ron admitted gruffly. “I didn’t mean to get aggressive.”  
“I hardly remember what you said,” Leslie replied breezily. “My brain is mush right now.”  
“Still,” Ron continued. “You were a good friend to me today.”  
“Well, once I’ve finished this burger I am going right back to sleep on your bench, simply because I genuinely don’t think I can move any further. I know how much you hate people intruding on your personal space, so we’ll call it even!”

Ron frowned sadly. “That’s not such a fair trade.”  
Leslie looked at him sympathetically. “You seem sad. I remember getting annoyed at something you said because you sounded like an ass. That’s vaguely in my memory. That, and April screaming as I threw up on the floor.” She winced. "Yikes, maybe I should apologise to her."  
Ron winced. “It's me who needs to apologise. I'm sorry, Leslie.”  
Leslie took a bite of the burger, going uncharacteristically silent for a moment.  
“Ron,” she finally said. “I did that today because I hated seeing how those women controlled you. It wasn’t right. And I’m your friend, so I wanted to help you. You’re always the one telling me _I_ should accept help, so now I’m batting that right back at you.” Leslie paused to grimace. “Jesus,” she mumbled. “I am so tired and _so nauseous. _Are you sure the burger will help?”  
“It will,” Ron replied instantly. Leslie smiled, taking another bite.  
“I trust you. And I’m so glad that Tammy is gone. I think I hate her more than the other Tammy.”  
Ron smirked. “They’re both terrible. I’m just glad you can handle them. Bringing me back from their wicked clutches is an art form, clearly. Which you have mastered.”  
Leslie yawned, and Ron took the empty wrapper off her, depositing it in the bin. He watched as Leslie settled back down with her make-shift pillow. After a second, Ron opted to put his coat over her, which she accepted gratefully.  
“You know what?” Leslie said sleepily. “Maybe the burger _did_ help. Thanks, Ron.”  
“Any time.” And he meant it. __


	4. After the Birthday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jerry's sixteenth shed some light on Leslie's working habits. Surprising no-one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sarcastic_Soulmate wanted something with Ben and Leslie in the campaign, and I think this was the perfect episode to use! It's a really cute Leslie and Ron episode but I think Ben could have snuck in more screen time too :,)

Leslie had been “sleeping with” Jerry for about an hour, and Ben couldn’t help but find it the cutest thing. She was exhausted. I mean, he was too- the campaign had taken it out of pretty much everybody who cared. But, if anything, it had only brought them closer together.   
Ben was sipping some tea just as Chris said goodnight to him and headed up to bed. Now it was just him and Ron awake. Ron was silently devouring the twenty-four eggs he had cooked up.   
Now he was awake Ben didn’t feel tired, so he continued sipping the tea, watching Ron from the opposite end of the table as he ate.

“Should I be concerned at the amount of eggs you’re consuming?” Ben asked, trying to start conversation. “Wait, how many eggs do you eat per week?”   
Ron finished chewing his mouthful before he answered. “That’s a need-to-know basis, son.”  
“Uh-huh.”  
The conversation fell flat then, and Ben hastened to find something to talk about.  
“So, uh, why were you and Leslie gone so long getting Jerry? I tried to wait up, but…”   
“We ran into a series of problems each more complicated than the last. All of which pointed to the fact that I was right.” Ron couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.  
Ben tilted his head. “What does that mean?”  
“It was all about the fact she’s working too hard, as you’re probably aware.”  
Ben snorted. “Heh, you’re telling me. I’ve been trying to get her to take a break for months. She thinks it’ll make her lose focus.”

Ben glanced over at the sofa. From here, he could see part of her blonde hair as she rested on Jerry, and it made him smile. But when he turned back to Ron, he frowned slightly.  
“To be honest… I’m a little worried that nobody can convince her to do it.”  
“That has been a recurring problem throughout the years,” Ron replied. Ben nodded- makes sense.  
“I think we need to find a way for her to chill out,” Ben mused. Ron smirked slightly.  
“I think today is proof enough. Tomorrow morning I’ll have a talk with her.”  
“You’d do that?” Ben asked. “You’re not really the… heart to heart type.”  
Ron didn’t speak for a while. Ben watched as he cleared his plate, carefully placing his cutlery in the centre to show he had finished.   
“Ben, I care about my friends. And between us, man to man… Leslie _is_ my friend.” Ron grimaced, and Ben smiled slightly. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow as a friend.”   
“I appreciate that,” Ben said with a smile. “I think she’ll listen to you.”  
“She’ll listen to you too, son. It just takes a while for the truth to sink in.”

***

Ben could tell that Leslie was still sleepy as they drove back from Donna’s house. She hadn’t spoken about the campaign at all on the drive back and, more shockingly, she let him pick the music without any debate. He wasn’t surprised when she leant her head against the window and dropped off around ten minutes in.   
That was fine. Ben listened to R.E.M all the way home. And while she did enjoy the music, Ben thought that she would have enjoyed it a lot less with all the high notes he was hitting. In fact, Ben was surprised it didn’t wake her up. Ron was right- she had been working too hard.

And as her boyfriend, it was Ben’s job to make her life as easy as possible. So, he turned down the music and he drove.  
And as he drove, he thought.  
Their relationship had been going well recently. Sure, they had a lot of work to do, but doing work with Leslie didn’t feel like work. It was more like a fun vacation.   
Ben winced. Okay, it was like work. But she made everything she touched one hundred times better, and Ben was lucky to even know her. _Dating_ her, especially the second time around, was something Ben was really starting to appreciate. And he wouldn’t let her go- not this time.

***

Ben turned off the ignition. They were back at Ben’s, and it looked like Andy and April weren’t back yet. Ben wasn’t worried- they had probably stopped to get a burger or something on the way, or maybe to walk Champion. Either way, Ben and Leslie were back first.  
Speaking of Leslie, Ben turned to look at her. She was still asleep, leaning against the window with a small smile on her face. Ben felt a surge of love for her, prompting him to lean over and kiss her forehead, gently waking her up.

She yawned. “Hey babe,” she said quietly. “Oh wow, we’re back already?”  
“Sure are. You missed my great singing on the way home.”  
Leslie pouted. “That’s a shame. Although-” she paused to yawn. “I think some of that might have seeped into my dream. I did wonder why the giant city counsellor badge was singing _Shiny Happy People_ out of tune.”  
Ben pretended to gasp. “It was _not_ out of tune!”  
The two of the got out of the car, but Ben paused by the door to give Leslie a tight hug.   
“So you had a good talk with Ron?” he asked her. Leslie nodded.  
“I sure did. I’m down to ten hours a week at parks.”  
“As long as you’re looking after yourself.”  
Leslie chuckled, before leaning in and kissing him on the lips. Ben sunk into the kiss- it never _ever_ got old. She really was his dream woman.  
“Looking after myself?” Leslie echoed. “How could I not, with such a great campaign manager?”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!


	5. After The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie and Ron are friends again. What happened after?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soft for this episode as always. it took me ages to think of another idea haha if anyone has any requests let me know!!

It was safe to say that the breakfast food idea was the best one either of them had had in a while.   
Aside from deciding to become best friends again, obviously.   
“So then we’re up to thirteen months ago, which was when I found that _really weird lump_ which, luckily, turned out to be nothing…”  
It seemed like Leslie was attempting to fill Ron in on the past two years over an hour lunch, and while she was basically just jabbering down his ear, he was content just to listen.  
“Listen, Ron,” she said suddenly. “I really want to just apologise again. I feel like all of this was my fault, and I hope you can forgive me.”  
Ron took a bite out of his bacon and scrunched up his face. “I thought we’d made it clear I’ve already forgiven you. Besides, you weren’t solely to blame in this one, Knope. I should have been more direct about my feelings. And I did knock down-”  
“-Ann’s old house, yeah, we all remember. And that hurts a bit but I just wish we hadn’t fallen out. There’s so much you’ve missed out on. We both have children, and I feel like they need the influence of Uncle Ron in their lives!”  
That was nice. Ron smiled slightly. “We have time for that. We just need to move on from what has happened. And while I hate change, I appreciate this particular change very much.”  
“Me too,” Leslie said with a smile, reaching over to squeeze his hand. She had to immediately remove it to cover her mouth as she released a dramatic yawn. Ron chuckled.  
“I feel that.”  
“Can I come round to your house and see Diane?” Leslie asked. Ron paused in thought.  
“She’s working today. And the children are in school. But you’re welcome to come over and wait for them to come back.”  
Leslie was already texting Ben to tell him where she was going and that she’d be gone for the next few hours. She was also talking a million words a minute about all the gifts she had bought Ron’s children over the years and kept in a box in the attic, and how she should really dig it out but the girls are probably too tall now. Ron just let it happen.

***

Leslie was yawning again by the time they got to Ron’s house, which didn’t surprise him. They had both stayed up all night- not only that but they had drunk an extraordinary amount along with that.  
He himself felt tired, but the alcohol always had a way of giving him strength. It was an old Swanson family trick- primarily from his mother’s side.   
While Leslie was hungover, he had been able to finally finish that picture frame he made her. And it wasn’t shoddy work, either. Not that any of his work was anything less than perfect, but he had been particularly pleased with the friendship offering.

“Wow, you planted tulips outside? They look great!”  
“Diane’s doing. Although I do enjoy them.”  
“And when did you get a new front door? I am (yawn) _loving_ the colour!!!”  
“Are you going to be this excited about every new aspect of my household? You haven’t been here in two years, things have changed somewhat.”  
“That’s good! I want to experience everything! Do the girls still like ponies?”  
“Not particularly.” Leslie deflated slightly.  
“Dammit. A lot of the presents I have for them are pony themed.”   
Ron smiled thinly at her as he put the key in the lock. “I’m sure once you’re re-acquainted with them, you’ll find new things to give them.”  
That perked her up slightly, at least.

When they got inside she was immediately running into every room. He could hear her voice echoing through the house like some kind of dissonant ghost.  
“Oh, wow! They really are big now! I love them all so much!”  
“The select few family photos I allowed in the house are excellent, I have to admit,” Ron agreed.  
After another ten minutes of Leslie being, well, _Leslie,_ she finally plonked herself on the sofa, Ron handed her a glass of orange juice. After Leslie playfully berated him for a while, Ron admitted that being married to Diane had helped him make some small changes for the better.   
“It suits you, Ron. All of this.”   
Ron smiled. “Thank you.”  
“I’m glad I could be a part of it.” Leslie smiled at him tiredly.  
“As am I. I look forward to when I can meet your children.”

***

Ron went into the kitchen to put the glasses in the sink. When he returned, Leslie had fallen asleep on his sofa. Ron chuckled.  
“That was a long time coming.”  
It had been a long time since he had dealt with a sleepy Leslie, but he remembered what to do quite quickly. Shoes off. Jacket off, if possible. He found a blanket in the other room with a cartoon character he wasn’t aware of- one of his girls’ no doubt. He put it over her, tucking her in. He found a cushion and made sure her head was on it.   
He stepped back, proud of his work. Hopefully she would be down for a few hours. Sometimes it felt like Leslie was one of his kids and, other times, he felt like one of hers.

“Diane?” he said quietly into the phone. “Don’t be alarmed when you come home and find Leslie Knope on our couch. She didn’t break in to murder me as I first suspected.”  
 _“You mean she hasn’t become another Tammy?”  
_ “No,” Ron chuckled. “I think that spot is reserved for demonic ex-wives rather than overly-eager ex-friends.”  
 _“So you’re all made up then? That must feel incredible, honey.”  
_ Ron paused to consider. “Indeed it does, darling.”  
 _“Don’t worry. I won’t tell her you said that_.”  
Ron hung up the phone shortly after that. He was so, so happy to have her back in his life. Not that he would ever directly admit that. But he knew she knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!


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